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The death toll from devastating flash floods that swept through central Texas on Friday has climbed to at least 107, with many still missing. Rescue teams are battling muddy riverbanks as more rain threatens the region, but hopes of finding additional survivors are fading four days after the disaster.
Camp Mystic, a Christian girls’ summer camp, confirmed 27 of its campers and staff were among the dead, with five girls and one adult still unaccounted for. In Kerr County, where the Guadalupe River overflowed after torrential rain on the July Fourth holiday, 87 victims—56 adults and 31 children—lost their lives. Authorities said 19 adults and seven children remain unidentified. Richard Eastland, 70, co-owner and director of Camp Mystic, died heroically while attempting to save children, according to the *Austin American-Statesman*. Local pastor Del Way told the BBC, “The community will miss him dearly. He died a hero.” The White House has dismissed claims that budget cuts to the National Weather Service (NWS) hampered the disaster response. Critics have pointed to job reductions at the NWS’s parent agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, but press secretary Karoline Leavitt insisted the NWS “did its job.” She noted that the Austin-San Antonio NWS office issued flood warnings and briefed local officials ahead of the storm. President Donald Trump, who plans to visit Texas later this week, called the floods a “100-year catastrophe” and rejected suggestions that federal cuts were to blame. Texas Senator Ted Cruz urged against “partisan finger-pointing” during a Monday news conference. Local campaigner Nicole Wilson has launched a petition for flood sirens in Kerr County, a measure debated for nearly a decade but never funded. Texas Lt Governor Dan Patrick acknowledged sirens might have saved lives and committed to installing them by next summer. Condolences have poured in globally, including messages of condolence from the British government. As rescue efforts continue, the community mourns the loss of young campers, teachers, and others swept away by what one local described as a “horrific” deluge.
